Judge Marilyn Clark granted defendant's motion for a directed verdict on count five, and a jury found defendant guilty on the remaining counts. On December 13, 1990, the judge sentenced defendant to a mandatory term of life imprisonment with a twenty-five-year period of parole ineligibility. The judge also assessed the appropriate fines and penalties.

Sometime thereafter, defendant filed his first PCR petition, which the court denied on April 1, 1999. Defendant did not appeal. Instead, on July 8, 1999, he filed a second PCR petition, contending, in part, as follows:

POINT VI

THE COURT ERRED WHEN IT ALLOWED THE STATE TO AMEND THE INDICTMENT, CHARGING THE DEFENDANT WITH BEING A LEADER OF A DRUG TRAFFICKING NETWORK OR KING-PIN WITHOUT FIRST PRESENTING SUCH TO THE GRAND JURY, THE COURT'S ACTIONS WERE IN VIOLATION OF BOTH ARTICLE 1, §§ 8 AND 10 OF THE NEW JERSEY STATE CONSTITUTION, AND THE UNITED STATES [CONSTITUTION] AND FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT.

Sometime thereafter, defendant filed this third PCR petition. He contended that Judge Clark erred in sua sponte amending the indictment on count four from conspiracy to distribute cocaine to leader of a narcotics trafficking network, thereby violating his right to indictment. Following a hearing, Judge Clark concluded that the petition was time-barred by Rule 3:22-12. Substantively, the judge found the petition lacked merit because the indictment, which she read into the record, clearly charged defendant in count four with first-degree leader of a drug trafficking network. This appeal followed.

On appeal, defendant contends that Judge Clark erred in sua sponte amending the indictment. We have considered this contention in light of the record and applicable legal principles and conclude it is without sufficient merit to warrant discussion in a written opinion. R. 2:11-3(e)(2). We affirm substantially for the reasons expressed by Judge Clark in her ...

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